What was Charles Babbage's childhood like?

Answer 1

Charles Babbage was born on December 26, 1791, in London, England. His father, Benjamin Jr., was a banker and merchant. They had eight children together, but only three lived beyond childhood. There is some dispute about the birthplace of Charles Babbage but as stated in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Babbage was born at 44 Crosby Row at Walworth Road in London, England. A blue plaque has been placed along the junction of Walworth Road and Larcom Street to commemorate the birth of this brilliant man.

Charles Babbage was one of four children born to Betsy Plumleigh Teape and Benjamin Babbage. His father was a banker and he was the partner of William Praed. Together they founded Praed’s & Co. of Fleet Street London in 1801.

When he was 8 years of age, Charles Babbage was sent to the countryside at Alphington near Exeter for schooling to help him recover from a fever that had nearly ended his life. Later he also attended the King Edward VI Grammar School in Totnes, South Devon but due to his poor health, he returned home and was educated by private tutors.

Later still, he attended the small Holmwood academy in Enfield, Middlesex. The academy had a library and there Babbage’s love of mathematics blossomed. At the age of about 16 or 17, Babbage went back to Totnes to study and also had a tutor from Oxford. It was under this tutor that he learnt the Classics so that he could be admitted to Cambridge.